Supporting Public Administrations in energy management
Since 2016, TerrAria has been collaborating with Agenzia InnovA21 within the Energy Manager service, providing technical support to the agency’s 10 member municipalities (Comune di Barlassina, Bovisio Masciago, Cesano Maderno, Desio, Lentate sul Seveso, Meda, Misinto, Nova Milanese, Seveso, Varedo) and to the Province of Monza and Brianza.
Agenzia InnovA21 is a non-profit association composed of public and private entities that, since 2005, has promoted, coordinated, and developed projects on sustainable development topics for its members.
Among other activities, it provides technical and organizational support in preparing projects to obtain funding and in implementing initiatives to raise awareness on energy savings and the use of renewable energy sources.
Giuseppe Maffeis (CEO of TerrAria), acting as Certified Energy Manager, has taken on the role of Energy Manager for the municipalities associated with Agenzia InnovA21, supporting local administrations in energy management through data analysis, economic evaluations, and priority-setting. The Energy Manager activity demonstrates how a structured and continuous approach to energy management can become a strategic tool for Public Administrations.
In particular, these municipalities, located in the western area of the Province of Monza and Brianza, are characterized by high urbanization and strong territorial and economic integration among different urban centers, resulting in significant and widespread energy consumption.
In this context, the presence of an Energy Manager plays a central role. In both highly populated and industrialized centers, as well as in smaller municipalities where residential areas and large green spaces prevail, this role enables the correct interpretation of local specificities and supports decision-making aligned with the diverse characteristics of the territory.
Through monitoring and analysis of consumption and expenditure, it is possible to define the energy profile of municipal assets, identify inefficiencies, and initiate targeted, concrete pathways toward sustainability. In particular, the annual energy balance allows for evaluating consumption trends over time, the consistency of expenditures, and the effectiveness of implemented measures, supporting an energy management approach focused on continuous performance improvement.
By combining building consumption analysis with the preparation of Energy Audits and Energy Performance Certificates, a fundamental tool is established for the energy retrofitting of public buildings. This approach enables the identification of priority interventions for the most energy-intensive assets and the certification of their energy performance.
Support in managing applications for incentives through the Conto Termico facilitates access to available financial resources and the implementation of interventions. In this context, the Energy Manager represents a key figure capable of identifying critical issues and guiding decisions toward sustainable solutions compatible with the resources available to Public Administrations.
THE ROLE OF TERRARIA
The annual activities carried out by the TerrAria team, coordinated by the Certified Energy Manager Giuseppe Maffeis, for each of the affiliated Municipal Administrations include:
- Support in defining Energy requirements for public procurement tenders in relation to available incentives: the technical team supports administrations in defining the technical and performance specifications to be included in tenders in order to access national incentives.
- Support in submitting applications for incentives under the Conto Termico: the technical team prepares all necessary documentation to access incentives and manages the submission and processing through the Energy Services Manager
- Energy and economic accounting of energy services: energy supply contracts are reviewed, and electricity and thermal bills are monitored to identify potential anomalies or best practices for reducing operating costs.
- Annual CONSIP verification: support is provided to local authorities in annually accessing energy supply tenders on the Public Administration Electronic Marketplace portal, in compliance with the obligation for Public Administrations to procure services through this platform, managed by CONSIP, the Italian national central purchasing body.
- Annual communication to Italian Federation for the Rational Use of Energy: the required communication pursuant to Law 10/91 is carried out on behalf of the municipality by the Energy Manager (Giuseppe Maffeis), responsible for energy conservation and rational use. The appointment of the Energy Manager is completed through the Nomina Energy Manager Online platform, managed by Italian Federation for the Rational Use of Energy.
- Energy assessment of a building: preparation of a preliminary energy audit (Walk-Through Audit) for a priority high-consumption building targeted for energy efficiency interventions.
- Support in activities related to photovoltaic systems: administrative and bureaucratic procedures required for authorization, installation, and operation of photovoltaic systems, including grid connection applications (e-distribuzione, GAUDÌ – Management Portal for the Registry of Electricity Production Plants), support in preparing the declaration for electrical workshops to the Customs and Monopolies Agency, and access to incentive schemes (definition of the Net Metering agreement with Energy Services Manager).
Overall, the activities carried out by TerrAria constitute structured and continuous support to Municipal Administrations, integrating technical, managerial, and strategic expertise. The adopted approach enables monitoring of energy consumption and expenditure through the annual energy balance and the related reporting to FIRE, while also guiding decision-making toward effective and sustainable interventions through the preparation of Energy Audits, Energy Performance Certificates, and the management of incentive applications under the Conto Termico.
In this way, energy management becomes a conscious and measurable process capable of generating tangible economic and environmental benefits. The experience gained thus represents a replicable best-practice model for local energy governance.
